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For the second time in almost a decade, President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters awoke to victory on Election Day.
In 2016, the president’s win came as a shock to many, squeaking past Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin.
In 2024, his victory was overwhelming, but perhaps more surprising. That’s because the Trump of this cycle faced what many believed to be insurmountable odds. Backlash to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, numerous felony prosecutions, repeated assassination attempts, and an unprecedented change in his opponent at the last minute.
And all along the way, predictions seemed to indicate that Democrats were, more likely than not, going to win.
Instead, Trump trounced them.
So while his supporters were in shock eight years ago, this win led to something akin to disbelief. It left some of them so overwhelmed and overjoyed, they didn’t know how to cope.
Trump fans convinced of a loss need to ‘rethink’ their lives
In online forums over the past months, young pessimistic men had been convinced of the outcome. The Deep State was out to get him, the media was united in opposition, Democrats would stop at nothing to steal.
On a post on Patriots.win, a shocked Trump fan said the victory had him needing to “rethink my whole life” having been such a doomer.
“Me having to rethink my whole life now because I was a doomer and thought we would be living under permanent communism,” they wrote next to a meme of Pepe the Frog calculation equations.
“Good Morning From a Surprised Doomer,” read another thread.
And with a victory for Trump assured, others weren’t afraid to come out of the woodwork and admit they too had been in a dark place.
“You are not alone brother,” wrote a respondent.
“Feel a huge weight lifted from under me, I could barely eat yesterday, stomach ache, waiting for another steal. Went to bed at midnight, woke up at 2am to check my phone Wow! What a great feeling it is this morning!” read a disbeliever turned faithful.
And on a forum known for indulging some of the internet’s most odious impulses, bright skies and happy thoughts reigned.
“Enjoy the sunrise and return to a bright world, fren!” wrote a poster.
“Never doom again with Jesus in your heart!” chimed in another respondent.
‘Doomer’ Trump fans
Others though, were less gracious to their dubious friends, blasting the movement for having the audacity to doubt Trump.
One post titled “where do you think you’re going, Doomer?” with an image of a frog holding a handgun, posters called out the naysayers who populated the forum.
“I wish I could updoot this post more than once! No more DOOMING!”
“Lmao, I’ve been giving doomers hell on here all election cycle. I understood being cautiously optimistic, but some people were pathetic. No faith in Trump, no faith in MAGA… sad!”
Others, though, defended the pessimism.
“Us Dooming led everyone to fight harder and be more vigilant,” one argued.
But together, they all warned that optimism, however merited it should be in these moments, should be short-lived, given the myriad threats they still perceived.
“It’s a never ending fight against weakness and evil, fren. Let’s bask in victory and glory this morning but it’s still back to work.”
They won’t actually let out a sigh of relief, they almost all said, over the next few months, until the election is certified and Trump is firmly in place in the Oval Office.
“We aren’t out of the woods yet. We’re only at the center of the forest. Lots can happen in 2 months.”
“I’m not unclenching until 1/20 and he’s in the white house.”
But still, some wanted the vibes to roll on just a little bit longer.
“Time to deploy Operation Feel Good … Let’s never give up again.”
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